Protesters rallied Wednesday outside of local media outlets nationwide, including at The Baltimore Sun, as an outcry over what they're calling a local media heist.

The Sun is one of 12 newspapers or TV stations under the ownership of The Tribune Company, but they could be taken over by Bill and Charles Koch, brothers who head a controversial major national conglomerate that the protesters say has a clear ideological bias.

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The group called on the paper's publisher and president to come out against the sale of the media group to the billionaire oil barons. Representatives with Common Cause Maryland said their main concern is media consolidation and its effects on democracy.

"The proposed Koch buyout of the Tribune papers is a massive step in the wrong direction for local press here in Maryland," said Common Cause Maryland executive director Jennifer Bevan-Dangel. "The industry has already seen waves of consolidation that have brutalized our local news. Continued consolidation under a buyer who doesn’t care about Maryland will result in more layoffs and less local news. The media is the fourth branch of government, and this buyout would continue to undermine that critical pillar of democracy."

Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron said at the event that the Koch brothers have a history of bankrolling climate-change denial, voter suppression and "the right-wing noise machine."

"The best hope for more local journalism and journalists is a local media owner with deep ties to that community. Tribune Co. should back away from the Koch brothers and put this vital outlet in better hands," he said.

Groups also held rallies Wednesday in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

So far, protesters have gathered nearly 500,000 signatures nationally to petition against the purchase. Common Cause dropped its petitions off at The Sun on Wednesday during the protest.

The sale of The Sun and nine other daily papers, including the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, is expected to happen sometime this summer, and the Kochs are expected to be the highest bidders, Common Cause said. Rupert Murdoch is also reported to be interested in the sale.